Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III will return to the starting lineup for today’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, as he has been out since dislocating his ankle in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Redskins team bus suffered an accident earlier today, but, thankfully, no major injuries were reported. RG3 is expected to help Alfred Morris, the deep passing game, and the entire Redskins offense, and it seems like he should be healthy enough to play based on his initial timeline. However, it sounds like starting RG3 might not have been the head coach’s decision, and the seeds aren’t sown for another 2013-esque RG3, GM, owner battle vs. the head coach.
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“Multiple members” of the Redskins organization told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that they think the decision to start RG3 against the Vikings was made by GM Bruce Allen and owner Dan Snyder, who is notoriously in the pocket of his quarterback, and not head coach Jay Gruden. One executive told Schefter that it was Gruden’s decision and not Snyder.
If you read the rest of the report, it sounds eerily similar to what transpired last year. The owner and GM love RG3 and want him to play, while his teammates dislike him. It’s just weird thinking that a quarterback isn’t liked by his teammates, because he has to be seen as a leader in the locker room. The Redskins will be much better off if their former No. 2 overall pick can succeed and lead them to some wins, as we didn’t hear any bad reports in his rookie season, right?
I have a feeling we could be ready for Gruden to split ways with the Redskins a la Mike Shanahan, though, hopefully, this departure wouldn’t be as messy. I would never want to take the Redskins head coaching job if I were a qualified NFL head coach, because there’s no point in working with Dan Snyder.
If RG3 plays well and the Redskins win some games, this will all quickly be water under the bridge. If not, you might want to preemptively pop some popcorn.